As soon as you type ‘diet ‘on any search engine, hundreds of them appear before you and claim to help you achieve your ‘ideal body’ which is why people are always confused about nutrition. Most of the diets restrict your eating habits and also mess with your psychological wellness.
Once you understand your body and how it responds to food, your relationship with food changes and that is where intuitive eating comes into the picture.
Intuitive eating promotes understanding your body and eliminates the need for following a diet, meal plan, etc. This approach was first introduced by Evelyn Tribole and Elyse Resch, in 1995.
What is Intuitive eating ?
It is a philosophy of eating that makes you the expert of your body and its hunger signals. It is the opposite of a traditional diet and doesn’t impose guidelines about what to avoid and what or when to eat. Instead, it teaches that you are the best person — the only person — to make those choices.
Here is how it encourages a healthy relationship with food:
Honor your hunger
Intuitive eating involves honoring hunger and not starving yourself. Your body needs nourishment and sends a signal when it requires food. Do not deprive yourself of meals as it can lead to cravings and you may end up eating even more than usual.
Feel Your Fullness
Some diets encourage people to either have meals at a certain time or skip it entirely. This fixed routine can be a reason why you can’t figure the right time to eat, which is when you feel hungry. Eat when you want to.
Avoid coping with emotions using food
Food is part of celebrations, gatherings and also right by our side on days we aren’t feeling too good. Intuitive eating focuses on understanding the difference between physical hunger and emotional hunger. Try not to deal with your emotions by chomping down a bucket of wings, instead, work on a healthier relationship with food.
Honor your health
Understand how the food you consume makes you feel. There is no right or wrong way to decide which snacks you should keep around. Whichever food item keeps you full and makes you happy, you can eat it.
Exercise- Feel the difference
Instead of focusing on ‘ideal figure’ and burning off calories, change your perspective and think of exercise as a way to take care of your health. Pick a form of exercise as per your liking instead of copying others.
Here are some of the principles that are involved in intuitive eating. Many research studies have shown improvement in health after switching to intuitive eating.